The Curry spirit visited the wrong locker room, the Orlando Magic starting this game 6-for-6 from the field but the team ranked 19th in offensive rating, joined forces, found a way to exorcise those demons, falling down 20 points in the 2nd quarter, Kon Knueppel and Coby White back-to-back Double Dragon dojo style, continuing the valanche after halftime, outscoring the Orlando Magic 76-45 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, sleepwalking to a 130-111 victory to honor the great Curry dynasty buitl and bred in the Hornet’s nest.
Charlotte is now only 2.5 games out from the 6th seed and avoiding the play-in completely (The Hawks and Magic are tied but the Hornets beat the Hawks 3 times this year, giving them the tiebreaker so if they all finish with the same record, Charlotte gets the higher seed)
The Magic now on a 3-game losing streak, having just lost to OKC and Atlanta. Brutal getting jumped by the teams you’re expected to compete in a one-and-done play-in tournament against, with a little beatdown from the defending champions in the middle just to really erase any remnants of confidence.
But I didn’t write this to dogpile Magic fans.
Let’s talk some Hornets ball.
LaMelo Ball rising to the ocassion
The shooting and ball handling never on trial. It’d be a waste of city resources, Local justice system drowning in LaMelo Ball car crash litigations.
But after 5 losing, injury-plagued seasons, zero evidence of any attention to detail or extra effort.
Brandon Miller finding a magic amulet, allowing him to transform in his idol every game, Moussa Diabate bulldozing neighborhoods and Kon Knueppel making every shot he takes, how many magic amulets are buried beneath the Charlotte soil?? I mean, Miles Bridges is a free man. That’s all amulet—LaMelo Ball is matching their freak, playing defense, boxing out for rebounds, staying engaged for entire posessions.
Here’s what LaMelo did against the Magic:
- 20 points
- 7-for-13 from the field
- 3 threes
- 6 rebounds
- 4 assists
- 3 steals
I am nominating LaMelo Ball as the first player with worse stats than his previous season to win the Most Improved trophy.
Kon Knueppel Rookie of the Year case
Kon Knueppel 17 Points, 6 Rebs, 4 Assists full highlight vs Magic | 25-26 NBA Season pic.twitter.com/jxuCw4xE8x
— Hoops Showtime (@HoopsShowtime12) March 20, 2026
Kon Kneeppel’s played 69 career NBA games. He leads the league in made 3’s, 10 more than Luka Doncic—who just made NINE of them thangs in a 60-point W over the Miami Heat last night. Kon still has more threes than him.
Cooper is hooper.
VJ can get nasty.
Kon Knueppel is just an objectively better basketball player. Now, Cooper Flagg and VJ Edgecomb haven’t hit their ceiling yet, Dylan Harper with full-time starting PG duties, could be a nightmare for opposing teams. Ace Bailey’s has the shell of something special.
But right now, today, taking Genghis Kon.
This isn’t Desmond Bane’s fault
The Orlando Magic waste so many possessions either watching Paolo iso directly into his defender over and over again or playing hot potatoes, tossing grenades to Desmond Bane at the end of the shot clock.
Bane’s slow start in Orlando, unsure of his role alongside Paolo and Franz, made him the blame for the team’s early struggles but with the season almost over, it’s safe to say Desmond Bane’s the best player on this team.
The Memphis Grizzlies should clean house and either start from the studs or find a Leon Rose—a guy with relationships and a plan, their current operation worthy of federal investigation. Kash Patel could use the layup. For years, the Grizzlies success etched into plaques screwed onto Ja Morant statues, enshrined in the heart of the honorary Jaren Jackson Jr gardens.
But Brooks and Bane were the special players who made the whole operation work.
Jaren Jackson can’t even rebound.
Only 5.7 a game when he played this season.
Disgusting for a big man.
But they all suck at rebounding.
2025-26 Rebounds per game:
Ja Morant: 3.2
Jaren Jackson Jr: 5.7
Dillon Brooks: 3.7
Desmond Bane: 4.2
All they had to do was add rebounding.
They could’ve traded up for Zach Edey, adding his 11.1 rebounds to this team with Steven Adams off the bench.
And, like, a wing and/or guard who enjoys the labor of glass maintenance—Russell Westbrook, Josh Hart, Michael Porter Jr, Julius Randle is always on the trading block, man.
Malpractice for the Grizzlies to be this buttass when they had Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks in the building—guys who actually take care of their craft—improving every offseason—guys you win championships with—and threw them under the bus Jaren Jackson accidentally drove over them because his little arms couldn’t reach the steering wheel.
Jalen Suggs wasted
Since I kinda exclusively talked about the Grizzlies there, let me actually write some words on Orlando.
Jalen Suggs is a cheat code, unlocking 6-12 free points every night from pesky little sleight of hand steals—perfectly timed swipes at some of the best dribblers on the planet.
My guy was just catching LaMelo ball dribbles between the ball leaving LaMelo’s hand, intercepting before the ball hit the floor.
Although it only happened twice, in a closer game, those are momentum pedal swings in the building.
Not so noticeable in 20-point blowouts.
22 points, 2 steals and a block—but also 4-for-12 from the field, shooting 43% on the season.
He is so necessary, defensively, for the Magic to be a competitive basketball club—but he’s such an abysmal shooter, without Franz Wagner eating shot attempts, Suggs is throwing dogshit at the rim.
The Magic need to improve their shooting next season, I just hope it doesn’t come at the expense of their attack hound.
I just wrote about what happened to Memphis after they blamed Brooks and Bane. The Orlando Magic cannot let Jalen Suggs end up on a title contender while Paolo and Franz exchange isos to nowhere.
Oh and before we go, gotta feed the Dell Curry heads quick:
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